Benfica defender Jan Vertonghen admits Tottenham reaching the Champions League final left him with mixed emotions.
Spurs overcame Vertonghen's former club Ajax in 2019 to reach the final.
He told De Telegraaf: “Everyone will think that reaching the final of 2019 with Tottenham Hotspur at the expense of Ajax was the best moment of my life. But believe me, it really wasn't.
"The difference between how I experienced the greatest moment of my career - reaching the Champions League final - and how the rest underwent the painful elimination of Ajax was actually impossible to do.
"I was happy, but saw pain in the rest, which I also felt strangely enough.
“I knew how Ajax longed to reach the final with a club from a small football country. This made me unhappy and happy at the same time, because I also realised that opportunity doesn't come along every year for me. The emotions fought for precedence.
“Although it is better that I now play against Ajax in the last sixteen, because the further we get, the more intense the emotions become. Judging by my last experience, this is nicer."
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